The visual
language of art is the most ancient, cross-cultural, and instinctual method
of communication, predating writing by thousands of years. Artists reflect
human history, and they are history: each painting, sculpture and computer
animation is not only art, but also a form of individual and cultural
commentary. The interdisciplinary
nature of the St. Andrews curriculum encourages students to explore the
connections between visual art and other disciplines, so that academic
and career goals maybe fully realized. The Colleges Electronic Fine
Arts Center (EFAC) is an interactive multidisciplinary high-tech studio
that allows students to combine visual art, video and music. The Art Department
also offers a contract major, which is a program of study designed for
a particular outcome, for example: drawing and biology, art and psychology,
computer art and video, or art and creative writing.

Student's benefit
from individual attention and instruction at St. Andrews. Plenty of space
and time is available in the 2D, 3D and computer studios, all of which
are open outside of class time to accommodate an art majors evening
or morning inspirations.
Should a student desire to see firsthand the world masterpieces that have
found their way into our visual vocabulary, the Colleges academic
calendar allows abundant opportunities for semester-long and short study
abroad programs. Students have explored art and life in France, Italy,
Great Britain, China, India, Japan, Vietnam, Switzerland, Spain, Ecuador
and Korea.

Closer to home,
works are displayed in the Vardell Gallery on the St. Andrews campus,
offering students regular exposure to artists known regionally, nationally
and internationally. The exhibition space also is the site of the annual
student art show.
The visual art experiences need not be limited to classrooms and studios.
St. Andrews is close to regional museums such as the Mint Museum in Charlotte
and the Reynolda House Museum of American Arts in Winston-Salem.

There are opportunities
for student works to be shown elsewhere on campus, from the murals in
the residence halls to the walls of the administrative offices and the
formal spaces of the Vardell Gallery. The Colleges literary magazine,
Gravity Hill, accepts student illustrations and photographs for publication,
as do the student newspaper and yearbook.